NARDIA PLUMBING CELEBRATED 25 Year Membership Milestone in 2022

Not long after his return to Brisbane, John started Nardia Plumbing, specialising in commercial fitouts. John’s energy and business acumen saw the company enter a period of rapid expansion and diversification into new fields, including construction, commercial maintenance, roofing, and tank manufacture.

In Nardia Plumbing’s 10th year of business, John contracted a melanoma and died suddenly. This was devasting for everyone, staff included. John left management of the company in the care of his brother, Carl Milford, who still heads the company today.

Nardia Plumbing has maintained a strong focus on maintenance and smaller projects as its core business but completed many large projects including student residential accommodation at South Bank, Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital, and Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries building at Kelvin Grove.

Outside of its industry-leading projects, Nardia Plumbing prides itself on its culture. The company culture has always been to create a team-orientated workforce, where all employees are supported by management and their workmates. As recognition of its efforts, Nardia won the 2013 Best Workplace Health & Safety Management System Award at the Plumbing and Gas Industry Awards. Previously two of their apprentices won awards as well: 2003 4th Year Apprentice of the Year Award and 2017 School Based Apprentice of the Year Award.

John Milford established Nardia Plumbing in 1997, after gaining 15 years’ experience working in the industry. John grew up in Dalby where he did his apprenticeship with Goeff Hartland, an old-school plumber. In the 80s, apprentices could expect a clip under the ear if they dared to back-chat a tradesperson.

It was not long after completing his apprenticeship that John caught the travel bug. At first, he worked in London as a maintenance plumber, but his adventurous spirit drew him across the Channel, where he worked on various large plumbing projects, including the Olympic village in Spain.

The past 25 years has seen many changes in the plumbing industry. One of the biggest adjustments has been the advances in IT; however, there has also been a dramatic shift in workplace culture. These cultural changes include an increased focus on workplace safety, a crackdown on bullying, acceptance of diversity, and a greater presence of females on work sites which has resulted in a more inclusive environment.

As an industry leader, Nardia Plumbing has embraced this evolution. MPAQ deserves credit for facilitating many of the positive changes in the industry. Nardia Plumbing recognises that organisations like MPAQ are vital for a progressive and prosperous industry and looks forward to another 25 years of operations with the support of our industry body.